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Author Interview – Kristin Oakley

What compelled you to tell the story/stories in your most recent book?Strange as it sounds, my protagonist, Leo Townsend, compelled me. I didn’t know that I’d be writing a series until I’d written the last line of my first book, Carpe Diem, Illinois, and once I did, I knew Leo had more stories to tell. In the second book, God on Mayhem Street, which is my most recently published book, Leo is forced to deal with his estranged father and learns things about his family he never knew – I never knew, until I wrote them. The book also explores the idea of a front-running presidential candidate who is openly gay and who is likely to win. How will the country deal with that?

What obstacles did you encounter while writing the book?Most of God on Mayhem Street takes place on Leo’s family farm outside my fictional town of Endeavor, Wisconsin. I’m a city girl and have been on a farm maybe six times in my life, so I didn’t have a clue about the farming life. I was lucky enough to meet fellow writer Dr. Bill Stork, a Wisconsin veterinarian, at the Southwest Wisconsin Book Festival a few years ago which was run by our mutual publisher, Kristin Mitchell of Little Creek Press. Bill helped me with the terminology, the farming culture, and the best way to poison cows.

The other obstacle I had was my protagonist, Jacob Landry. I knew he wanted the Townsend farm but he was reluctant to let me know why. He gave me a lot of headaches. I figured there was something valuable about the land, oil maybe? In Wisconsin – no way. After many hours of research, I did find out something interesting and unique about Wisconsin that made sense to the storyline and led me to Jacob’s secret.

How has writing your most recent book changed or added value to your life?Strange as it might sound, I finally felt like a novelist. I guess it’s because there are many writers who only produce one book and then move on to something else for whatever reason. While publishing my debut novel was a huge accomplishment, creating more than one book meant I’ve turned my writing into a career. In some ways, it’s made me take my writing all that more seriously.

Did you self-publish or did you go the traditional route? What was that process like?I took the hybrid route of self-publishing by hiring Little Creek Press. I had pitched my first book to agents and got some interest, but nothing came of it. I knew Carpe Diem, Illinois was good, ready for an audience, and I didn’t want to wait years for it to be published. I decided to hire Kristin Mitchell of Little Creek Press because she’s first and foremost a graphic artist and her book covers are beautiful. Since I’d spent years of my life crafting my books, I wanted beautiful covers for them as well. I also didn’t want to spend a lot of my time figuring out the publishing and distribution processes. I just wanted to write.

The first thing I had to do was find a good editor. At the Southwest Wisconsin Book Festival I mentioned earlier, I met one of Kristin’s editors, Karyn Saemann, and we clicked immediately. After the book was edited, I sent the final manuscript to Kristin and she did the rest—acquiring the ISBN, formatting the book for both paperback and Kindle, getting it in various distribution sources, and advertising it on her website. I liked the results, so hired Kristin and Karyn to help me with God on Mayhem Street.

Are you friends with other writers? If so, how do they influence your writing?Definitely. The majority of my friends are writers. They give me valuable feedback on my pages, brainstorm ideas, help me set up and meet deadlines, pass along resources such as contests or book signing opportunities, and give me encouragement and support. I can’t imagine writing without them.

I have a critique group I meet with every two weeks or so for valuable writing time and feedback, a couple of friends who I retreat with twice a year, and several other writer friends who’ll I’ll periodically meet at coffee shops. I’m also on the board of the Chicago Writers Association (CWA) where I’m managing editor of our online magazine, The Write City Review, and our debut anthology, The Write City Review. I’ve made some wonderful connections through CWA and even won their 2014 Book of the Year Award for Non-traditionally published fiction for Carpe Diem, Illinois which opened a lot of doors for me.

Do you maintain a regular writing practice? If so, what does it look like?Sort of. I’m in editing mode right now, editing the second draft of the second book in my Devil Particle Trilogy (which I hope to release next year) so I try to edit about 30-50 pages each week. I shoot for editing every day because then the story stays fresh in my mind, but at least I manage to set aside three to four 2-hour or more blocks of time each week to devote to my work-in-progress. What works best for me is to establish deadlines because I’m really good at meeting them. I plan on finishing this round of edits on the second book by September 1st and then working on the first draft of the third book, which I hope to have completed by the end of this year.

How many other books or stories do you have in progress right now?Four books – or more. As I mentioned, I’m currently working on The Devil Particle Trilogy – a young adult dystopian series. I also have 30,000 words of the third book in the Leo Townsend series written and can’t wait to get back to it. Leo’s mad at me for neglecting him! And I have ideas for two more Leo Townsend novels bouncing around in my head. Oh, and ideas for a woman’s fiction and another futuristic/dystopian book. I guess that makes 8!

Do you view writing as a spiritual practice?I guess it depends upon your definition of spiritual. Writing definitely fulfills me and brings joy to my life, especially when a reader tells me they’ve been moved by my writing.

What would your life look like if you didn’t write?It would be very different—it’s hard to imagine. I would probably concentrate on my art – oil painting and photography. Right now, those are somewhat neglected hobbies.

Why do you write?For the money – lol! Oh, don’t get me wrong, the money would be nice, but it’s not realistic to think I’ll get rich from my writing. And even if I do, that would be wonderful, but it wouldn’t be the reason why I write. I write because of the thrill of creating whole worlds, strange and interesting people, and surprising situations. I like tackling the big issues of our time through the lives of intriguing characters. For instance, what would life be like if children never attended school? Or why should it matter to anyone else that two people of the same sex love each other? I love developing characters that are intriguing, and words fascinate me – how just one word can inspire or incite. Plus, like all writers, I get a definite high when the words flow. Good writing is definitely addicting.

Kristin A. Oakley’s debut novel, Carpe Diem, Illinois, won the 2014 Chicago Writers
Association Book of the Year Award for non-traditionally published fiction, was a
finalist in the Independent Author Network 2015 Book of the Year, and a runner-up in
the 2016 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition. Its sequel, God on Mayhem
Street, was released in 2016. Kristin is a Chicago Writers Association board member, the
managing editor of The Write City Magazine and The Write City Review, and a UW-
Madison Division of Continuing Studies adjunct writing instructor where she critiques
manuscripts and offers a variety of workshops.